"IF YOU LIKE GOLF"
online golf column
by
Chris Dortch

July 18, 2007

When Harris English made the turn in the final round of the Georgia Amateur at Ansley Golf Club-Settindown Creek in Roswell last week, he had no idea he was about to become a part of the state’s proud golfing history.

Trailing tournament leader Mark Strickland by five shots with eight holes to play, English, the former Chattanooga Baylor star headed to the University of Georgia next month, wasn’t even sure he could win. His goal was to finish as strong as he could and acquit himself well in his first-ever Georgia Amateur.

English did much, much more than that. Playing the final nine holes in 1-under-par while Strickland and others fell by the wayside, English won the tournament, a feat that would be significant for a player of any age. For the 17-year-old English, this victory was one for the ages. Not since 1916, the first Georgia Amateur played, had a player so young bested the field of the state’s top players.

Anyone remotely aware of golf history in general or in the South in particular probably knows it was Bobby Jones who, at a mere 14, won back in 1916. In the 91 years since, none of the great young players Georgia produced was able to come close to matching that remarkable accomplishment.

Young Mr. English, it turns out, has the proper appreciation for what he’s accomplished. So many young athletes today aren’t aware of the great players who came before them. Few have a sense of history.

“Harris isn’t a historian,” said English’s father Ben. “But he’s watched all the Bobby Jones movies. He’s played East Lake and he’s played Augusta National. And of course, playing for King Oehmig at Baylor, he’s heard all the stories about King’s father Lew Oehmig, and the relationship he had with Mr. Jones. This has all flowed together into a great story. It’s almost as if it was meant to be.”

“I have a huge appreciation for Bobby Jones,” Harris English said. “He was the father of amateur golf; he did everything an amateur could do in the game. To have my name engraved on the same trophy that has Bobby Jones’ name on it, it’s a great honor.”

You get the feeling this won’t be English’s last Georgia Amateur championship, and that there’s a lot more in store for him. He seems to have all the requisite tools to excel—height and strength, length off the tee, a solid short game—plus one other attribute that separates champions from mere contenders.

“Harris is as unflappable as a Zen master on the course,” said King Oehmig. “He’s always the same—focused—whether he’s winning or losing.”

Evidence of that came in the final round of the Georgia Amateur, after English made a triple bogey on the par-3 fifth hole. Ben English, no doubt feeling more of the pain from that misstep than his son, asked Harris if he was OK as he walked off the fifth green.

“Sure, I’m fine,” was the reply.

English played the rest of the round in 2-under-par, making birdies on three of his next five holes.

The victory couldn’t be considered the culmination of a life spent preparing for golfing greatness—English has far too much tournament golf ahead to call it such—but it justified the faith Ben English had in his son.

When it became apparent Harris had a gift for the game, his father made sure he had every opportunity to explore his potential. One of his first instructors was Jack Lumpkin, perennially among the list of America’s 100 top teachers. Harris eventually began working with former Georgia Tech star Chan Reeves, a protégé of the late Jimmy Hodges and Davis Love II, two more of the most respected teachers in the game’s history.

Lumpkin and Reeves can take partial credit for English’s technical skills, but the rest of the package that has made him a great player comes from family. The young man is unfailingly polite—on and off the course—respectful of his fellow competitors and a good teammate. His calm demeanor serves him well, as does his intense work ethic—no sooner did he return from his Georgia Amateur victory, he was on the practice tee, working on his wedge game.

“I’m proud of his golf, but I’m more proud of his work ethic and his character and all the things that go along with being a champion,” Ben English said of his son.

The younger English, a Georgia native through and through, won’t have to leave his beloved home state to play his college golf, as he did during his prep career at Baylor. He’ll report to Georgia Aug. 10, and who can count him out from earning a spot on the Bulldogs’ traveling squad?

“He will do exceptionally well at UGA—not only because he is an incredible player, but also because he is the consummate team player,” Oehmig said. “There is not a hint of prima donna in him. UGA is very fortunate to have him.”

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